More tales from the Clinton Funhouse: Bill unloads worthless stock for $700K to mystery buyer

Bill Clinton gets $700K cash windfall

WASHINGTON, Mar 7, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- ACNA | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Ethical questions have arisen about former U.S. President Bill Clinton's $700,000 sale of stock given him by a failing Internet company founded by a felon.

Clinton got the non-publicly traded Accoona Corp. stock in 2004, the year the company was created, as a gift for speaking at a company event, The Washington Times reported. Valued at 66 cents a share when issued, he sold the 200,000 shares at $3.50 per share to an undisclosed buyer in May 2006, while the company, backed by the Chinese government, was reporting losses in the tens of millions of dollars.

His wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, had not announced her intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination when Clinton sold the stock and plowed the proceeds into the William J. Clinton Foundation, the newspaper said.

The sale was listed on the foundation's tax returns reviewed by the Times. Some ethics experts said they were troubled by the lack of disclosure about the buyer specifically, and the activities of former presidents' foundations generally.

Sheila Krumholtz of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which studies political money and ethics, said former presidents aren't required to disclose donations and stock transactions to their foundations, but they should to avoid the appearance that money was buying special access.

Accoona, based in Jersey City, N.J., was co-founded by Armand Rousso, who pleaded guilty in 1999 to federal money laundering and other charges. The China Daily Information Co., a subsidiary of the Chinese-controlled newspaper China Daily, holds nearly a 7 percent stake in Accoona.

18. The MSM refused to report on Bush's record during 2000, including being AWOL from TANG

just as the MSM is refusing to go into the Clinton's business deals since they left the White House. The MSM is afraid of the Clintons just as it is afraid of Bush. That's a bad omen for freedom and democracy.

After all, he insisted on paying Rezko $100,000 for that strip of land that had just been appraised at $40,000. He couldn't possibly have been helping Rezko laundry money into his wife's name, could he? I mean, that would have been assisting him in hiding assets for his bankruptcy, and we all know the Sainted One would never do such a thing!

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

Mr. Clinton is negotiating to end his relationship with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. as part of a broader effort to protect the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, from potential conflicts of interest. Details of Mr. Clinton's involvement in Yucaipa and his efforts to unwind it come from documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter.

The former president has had links to Yucaipa since early 2002, when Mr. Burkle -- a longtime friend and political contributor -- offered him a role there. Mr. Clinton's association with the firm began at a time when he was looking to earn large amounts of money, partly to pay heavy legal bills accumulated to defend himself and Mrs. Clinton from several investigations during his presidency.

Now, as he negotiates with Yucaipa to withdraw from the relationship, he is a wealthy man, thanks partly to tens of millions of dollars he has earned making speeches around the world.

Mr. Clinton initially signed on with Mr. Burkle as a senior adviser to closely held Yucaipa. As part of that arrangement, Mr. Burkle agreed to give Mr. Clinton a share of the profits from two Yucaipa domestic investment funds if their returns reached a certain threshold. Mr. Clinton's adviser arrangement ended in early 2007, five years after it began. But Mr. Clinton still hasn't settled the issue of his payout...

21. So where is any indication Bill did a single thing illegal, immoral or unethical?

There isn't any, of course. But who needs evidence when it comes to Clinton-hating?

Clinton-haters want Bill and Hill to be homeless and destitute, and preferably diseased and in excruciating pain. The very idea of Clinton making a lot of money drives them crazy, They can't stand to know that anything good is happening to the Clintons. And their minds are so warped with hatred, that no matter how honestly Bill comes by his money, the Clinton-haters are going to falsely accuse him of stealing it.

Then again, whoever bought that stock was doing him a favor. In return for what? Could be Bill, as an ex-President, put in a good word for the buyer with a well-placed official somewhere. He has access, DUH! Could be the buyer is counting on access to the next American President.

Oh I bet it was no mystery whatsoever to the Clintons who the buyer was. Of course they'll never tell the American public because we just don't need to know about their sweetheart deals. Time for the EThics Committee to investigate-pronto.

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